Carbon Dioxide Control Seminar
A China-US Seminar on Carbon Dioxide Control Technology, the third of its kind co-sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology Department of High and New Technology Development and Industrialization, and the United States National Energy Technology Laboratory, was held December 11-12, 2010 at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou. Some 130 representatives from Chinese and US universities, research institutes, and enterprises attended the meeting. Participants discussed a range of issues in five major areas, including advanced power generation technology and multi-generation system, CO2 capture/transport/purification technology, CO2 displacement and sequestration, CO2 utilization, and carbon trade/policy.
The organizing parties agreed to further strengthen the collaborations in the area of CO2 emission control and utilization, and to hold the next round of seminar in due time remaining in Hangzhou.
Intelligent Robot with Smart Fingers
Harbin Institute of Technology has recently produced an intelligent robot with smart fingers under the National 863 Program. The smart robot that has passed experts' acceptance check is equipped with five modular fingers. Each finger has four joints enjoying three degrees of freedom, or 15 degrees of freedom in total. The two terminal joints are able to move in a coupled manner. The fingers can tell the position, force/torque, and feel.
Researchers incorporate all needed mechanical, electrical, and sensing components in a highly integrated module, and implant the module in the palm, or in the fingers. As a result, the robot is able to identify and capture the objects in different shapes, and work on them on its own, using smart and sensible fingers. Researchers also realized the delayed remote teleoperation from Harbin to Wuhan, allowing the robot to open the solar panel, taking advantage of the internet based 3D graphic simulation capability and the robot's proprietary capability. The smart robot has found applications in numerous research institutions at home and abroad, and made its appearances in a number of shows
New Navigation Satellite Launched
At 0420, December 18, 2010, China blasted off another navigation satellite aboard a CZIIIA launch vehicle from the Xi'chang Satellite Launch Center. 832.1 seconds after lifting off, the navigation satellite, the 7th of its kind launched by China, entered the preset transfer orbit.
The navigation satellite, named Compass, is a geostationary orbit inclined spacecraft, and is the fifth Compass series navigation satellite launched by China in a row this year. Compass satellite navigation system is a global satellite navigation system independently developed and operated by China.
China's First Journal Impact Factor Database
A Chinese academic journal impact factor annual report, jointly prepared by Tsinghua University China Academic Journal E-magazine Press, China Scientific Literature Quantitative Evaluation Center, and Tsinghua University Library, was published on December 16, 2010 in Beijing in the form of database series. The database series are made up of two parts: humanitarian and social sciences, and natural sciences and engineering. The database not only presents impact factors concerning journals, basic research, technology development, and humanitarian and social studies, but also adds a dozen of evaluation indicators, including total citations, the numbers of cited journals, and citation half-life.
China is currently publishing more than 6,300 titles of academic journals. The Annual Report in the form of database has gathered evaluation indicators for more than 4,500 titles. 7% of the citations were removed by a search system able to tell academic misconducts. Meanwhile, derived from the database are two sub-datasets for statistical analysis of the influence of academic journals and the performance of journal management agencies.